Sign up to Covet.

It’s like shopping without sin.

• You sign up on the website (for free).
• You go through a short quiz to find your “style”. (Basically they show you photos of celebrities… and you pick which outfit you’d wear and eventually they narrow it down to 3-4 styles).
• You input your sizes for everything you can think of… shoes, pants, tops, blouses… (and you can pick more than one size! Like… I’m a large in most t-shirts but definitely and extra large for anything I need to button)
• You pick your price range (This is my favourite). You pick the lowest you’ll pay (obv $0.01 for me!) and the most you’d pay for any specific clothing piece. Example: I won’t pay more than $20 for a t-shirt… so my range was $0.01 to $20- but I’ll pay more money for a purse… so my limit was $20-$50.
• Voila!

Covet will send you an e-mail every day with stuff ON SALE in your size.

Check it out and report back! Seriously, I want to be jealous of your finds.

xo, barb

I’m going to update this blog almost hourly. I spend so much of my time poring over magazines, reading blogs and looking at websites. I’ve been enamored with Chanel’s website this afternoon – checking out the fall/winter lines. The Cruise has a few classic pieces while the ready-to-wear is making me drool. I should rename my blog: “If I had $1,000,000”.  Or “If I was a size 4”

(Pics taken without permission from Mahalofashion)

I’m so glad B&W is sticking around in such a huge way.

Wow I’ve been busy on the internet today!

Spring shoes (formerly Transit) is having their summer clearance. The nice thing about Transit, er Spring, is that they frequently carry shoes that can be worn any time of the year.

Here is my favourite: Linky-Poo (I’ve been eyeing those bad boys since they came out on the shelf. And they’re vegan to boot.)

Anyhow, I’m pretty sure that anything you want to buy on the Spring website you can have shipped for free to any of their stores. I also think (99%) that if you like a pair of shoes in any of their stores but they don’t have your size – they’ll have them shipped to the store for you for freeeee! THAT’S MY FAVOURITE PRICE!

I also found this necklace. Love. And $11.99 is a price I can get behind.

This Saturday at Old Navy, ribbed tanks are $2 each while supplies last!

Last time they had this sale (at the beginning of the summer) they sold 1200 tanks in about 5 hours – so if you want to cash in on the deal make sure you’re early.

So, this is basically my plan for the fall. Luckily – I won’t need to purchase all of them since a few crucial pieces for the fall are carried over from last season.

Notes:

• I numbered each pick in the photos. Below there is a list of where to find it (as it’s shown) and maybe a couple of  budget choices.
• I stole this from “cupcakes and cashmere“… but added the budget choices.
• I already own some of these… so I’ll just tell you where I got it and where I found the picture.

1. Basic Brown Skirt, Mod Cloth, $29.99 (Budget (as if): Forever21.com, $22.80)
2. MARKEE Shoes, Steve Madden $59.97 (SALE) (Budget: GoJane.com, $22.10 or $22.40)
3. Kurt Shirt, What Comes Around Goes Around (Neiman Marcus), $195.00 (Budget: Gap Gingham Shirt: $49.50)
4. Art Nouveau Necklace, Modcloth.com, $16.99 (Budget Forever21.com – $6.80 or $5.80)
5. Grey Basic, Forever21.com, $4.80 (lol, the is not budget shirt! You can get a grey basic just about anywhere… Gap, ON, Suzy Shier… )
6. W K Jacket, The North Face, $179
7. The Boyfriend Jean, Gap, $59.50 (Budget: Boyfriend Jean at Forever21, American Eagle, Old Navy or Joe Fresh)
8. Nikki Leather Hobo, Neiman Marcus, $595 (Budget:, Matt&Nat)
9. Eyelet Ruffle Cap Sleeve Blouse, Forever21, $17.80 (There really is no budget for an $18 blouse)
10. Black Strap Boot, Neiman Marcus, $475

What a list!

Now here are the things I already have….

4. I bought the most precious red rose pendant at Value Village a few years ago… it acts perfectly as a “statement necklace”. Another thing that works well, is to wear 2-3 plain chains and 1 with a small pendant on it. It looks great with a v-neck basic or a tank for the rest of the summer.

5. Basics! I buy most of mine from Je Suis Prest Boutique (Kiera carries the Alternative Apparel line – and it is top notch) but you can pick them up anywhere. American Eagle sells them off frequently for $6.97. Old Navy has $5 sales. Heck, even the gap will sell you one for $9.99 or less most days. There is no reason (ever) to spend more than $22 on a basic t-shirt. You heard it here first. I will hunt you down.

7. Boyfriend jeans. Two things.

1. I have a boyfriend and he has jeans. I’ve never tried them on – but I assume they’d look like that. A bit baggy and hugging zero of my curves.
2. If you have an old pair of jeans – cut a few holes in them and throw them into the washing machine. They’re already distressed – and now the holes are apparent!

8. I bought a hobo that looks EXACTLY like this. Except mine is vegan and of the Matt&Nat variety. It was $60 at winners. Seriously. Buy purses there- you won’t regret it and neither will your pocket book.

10. I bought a pair of black strappy boots two years ago on sale for $9 at Payless. Best winter purchase I’ve ever made. Buying things in the off season may seem like a waste (especially if they were trendy items…) but black boots never go out of style and (lucky for me) STRAPS ARE BACK.

Whew my fingers are sore.

Happy shopping!

I’ve been reading this blog lately –

Cupcakes & Cashmere

Basically it’s this beautiful woman who blogs about her life. She posts photos of new outfits, picks for the fall, what she wore to go get a hot dog… you know – the basics :)

I think in the coming days – I will post my fall outlook. I’m not one for buying trends as they hit the shelves – for two reasons.

1. Holy I am not skinny
2. Full price for anything other than a latté at starbucks is too much for me

But I’ll show you the select pieces I plan to buy (or in some cases, recycle) for the fall.

WOW I’M UP LATE

TTYL

Hello!

Every time I find out about a good sale (3-4 times daily, whoops) I’m going to post it on the internet.

Here are two sales you can enjoy this weekend:

Je Suis Prest Boutique is having a HUGE summer sale. Like, 25-75% off all of their summer fashions. This includes (but is not limited to) dresses, skirts, tanks, jackets, cardigans… the list goes on. Je Suis Prest is my new favourite store. It brought me out of the darkness (digging in the ON sale department) and into the light (of Brunswick Square with their beautiful sky light).  Check it out. If you’ve been there before – bring in your re-usable tote to get an extra 10% off.

Kiera’s Blog

Je Suis Prest Twitter

Sale #2

R W & Co. is having their annual summer sale as well. They have a rack close to the door full of tops for $9.95 in my size. I had to get Adam to help me pick out 2 of them – since the 5 I had picked out was a bit much. They also have their skirts and dresses on sale – but for a bit more (but still much less than retail!).

Pros about R W & Co. : They carry my size in tops. And have a lot of them.

Cons about R W & Co.: … but not in pants, skirts or dresses. Unfortunately my XL top half can not fit into a size 14 pants. Sad times, but the truth.

OK HAPPY SHOPPING

SEE YOU LATER

My name is Barb. I’m 25, an engineer, a self-proclaimed “grown-up”, mother of two (cats), and a fashionista wannabe.

My love for fashion over the past year has blossomed. This time in 2008, I was a regular at Old Navy. I would purchase $5 basics, $3.97 specials (whether I thought I’d wear it or not) and $20.00 jeans. That store knew that the way to my heart was through gigantic clearance sections.

Something changed though. I don’t know if it was when I picked up the latest “ELLE” magazine from a friend’s coffee table or when I threw out another top once the hem started fraying or I realized that maybe I should have tried it on. I think maybe it was when I befriended Candice (I’ll call her “trendy”). Anyway, something clicked in my mind that maybe it was time to start spending money on fashion.

I used to get so judgmental of my girlfriends who would spend $75 on ONE pair of jeans. At Old Navy I could buy at least three, maybe four pairs if they were on the sale rack. I would roll my eyes at my girlfriends who would pay $100 or more for a pair of heels. I think at that time I had purchased a pair of black patent pumps from Joe Fresh (for $14 or so) that would do me for (probably) a lifetime. When my girlfriends would look at a purse and drop $200+ on it? My eyes popped out of my head. First of all – I never have $200 to spend on anything – even on pay day. Second – $200 would buy an entire wardrobe at Old Navy; a few shirts, a cardigan, two pairs of jeans and a couple pairs of ballet flats. Heck – I could even buy panties!

Anyhow – this blog is going to showcase my horrid writing skills as well as my knack for finding deals and having a closet full of clothes (70% classic and 30% trendy – thanks budgetfashionista.com). GOOD LUCK.

xo, barb

Hello friends! Day 15 means we are half way trough #30in30! 15 (well, actually 17) more giveaways will hit the blog before December 21st. Exciting right? If you’re not familiar with TUCK Studio it means two things…. you’re probably not from here or we probably just met in the last week! Judith Mackin, one of my dearest friends, owns the most amazing business (on level 0 of the home she shares with her husband Robert and their family) . She specializes in emerging and established design with a focus on Canadian and Scandinavian Design and Designers. As you’ll see from the gift ideas below, there’s something for everyone at TUCK! Enjoy!

Here are a few of my favourite things from TUCK –

The Studio has new hours for the rest of December – open until 8pm on Thursdays and Fridays as well as 1-4pm on Sundays! Drop by this week (or weekend) to create your TUCK wishlist – it won’t be hard! Judith & Sarah have a lovely giveaway for you today….

Amazing. Enter below: a Rafflecopter giveaway

  The complete TUCK Fall/Winter lookbook is available here: